August 2026 | Vol. 12 Iss. 8
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West Valley City
Strawberry basil ice cream? Entrepreneur has the competition licked
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Special Fo Edition
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Recipes for generations Readers share their family favorites
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50 years later, Café Silvestre is winning new fans By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com A third-generation brings spice to the popular West Valley restaurant.
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Eric and Gabrielle Morales own the family-operated Café Silvestre, with Eric serving as head chef. (Photo courtesy of Gabrielle Morales)
ucked away in West Valley is a family-owned Mexican restaurant that has been serving homemade comfort food for 50 years. It’s where three generations have built a loyal following. Gloria Ruiz opened Café Silvestre at 3524 S. 2200 West in 1976 with no business experience, just really good recipes that people have come to love. Now, the third generation of family members operates the restaurant, providing the same classic menu items along with some updated flavors. Ruiz’s granddaughter, Gabrielle Morales, took over the business in 2021 when it faced significant challenges. Her husband, Eric Morales, serves as head chef and together they decided to change the menu to differentiate themselves from other Mexican restaurants in the area. “With my grandma, her cooking was not real Mexican because my grandma was born in Colorado, close to New Mexico. So a lot of the menu was a regional, American style of cooking,” Gabrielle Morales said. “My husband is from the state of Hidalgo, in
central Mexico, and the cuisine of that area is much different than northern Mexican cuisine. We wanted to bring his influence on authentic Mexican dishes and introduce that onto our menu.” The new menu includes ingredients like tomatillos, chili serranos and poblano-style mole, but they also wanted to cater to longtime guests who loved grandma’s slow-simmered chili verde. The result was a mash-up of customer favorites and new dishes with fresh flavors. It seems to have paid off because in May, Café Silvestre was awarded the 2026 Best of SLC for Mexican cuisine. Gabrielle Morales said the award was surreal, unbelievable and validating. “I have been completely blown away by the response of the community,” she said. “The love that we have gotten has been incredible. Every single day, I’m just blown away by how many people we get to share this with.” The restaurant’s extensive menu covers all types of food choices. It offers more than one dozen types of tacos, including portobello Continued page 9
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